You have to wonder if Washington Capitals owner Ted Leonsis found any relief from Alex Ovechkin’s first road goal of the season.

Ovechkin blew a wrist shot past Maple Leafs goalie James Reimer on a power play at 2:38 of the second to put the Capitals up 2-1, a lead that would hold through the period before Toronto eventually picked up its first home win of the season, 3-2, on Thursday night.

Ovechkin was standing about halfway up the left faceoff circle when he let that blistering wrister of his go. It’s one of the things Ovechkin does better than almost anybody — fire the puck hard and quick. A lot of goalies would have had trouble handling it.

It was a goal, a step in the right direction, but still a loss for the now 1-5-1 Capitals and a minus-1 with just two shots on goal for Ovechkin.

After watching Ovechkin play the Leafs, you can’t help but think he’s not the same guy that won the Hart Trophy two times in his career. You can’t help but think that some of his passion is gone, that maybe it’s time for a change of scenery.

His teammates will tell you otherwise, that he is still working hard, that the passion is still there.

So maybe it’s getting used to the system under new coach Adam Oates. Or maybe it’s about him trying to be excited about playing on a line with former Leaf and Marlie Joey Crabb, who has spent the majority of his pro career in the minors, and Jay Beagle, not exactly an offensive force himself.

“They (Crabb, Beagle) have speed and they’re not afraid to go into battle. It’s a challenge for me and them, too, but we have to get results,” Ovechkin said.

You wonder how long that experiment will last. Oates did try to ignite Ovechkin by switching up the lines in the second and third periods against the Leafs.

Leonsis also tried to ignite his franchise player on Wednesday night when he told a Washington-area radio station that he was a bit concerned with the Russian’s play. Perhaps trying to make Ovechkin play more like the Great 8 than the Great Ain’t — as in ain’t producing or progressing.

“We’re concerned,” Leonsis said on Wednesday. “Alex is off to a slow start … He’s having to get integrated into this new system. He needs to play better.”

At the morning skate, prior to Washington’s game against the Leafs, Ovechkin agreed: He had to play better.

Tough to say whether or not that was accomplished on Thursday night at the Air Canada Centre.

Yes, he ended his goal drought on the road — and it figures it had to be against the Leafs, who he now has 24 goals and 43 points against in 28 games — but it’s hard to get too excited about two goals and three points in seven games from a player that is supposed to be one of the game’s elite.

Other than his power-play marker and a burst near the end of the third period when the Capitals were pressing and Ovechkin circled the Leafs end for what seemed like three times before finally making a bad pass that was chipped harmlessly out of Toronto’s end, the Russian was more or less invisible.

He disappeared for long stretches of the game and when you did notice him, he looked disinterested.

After the game, Ovechkin blamed his team’s five first-period penalties for not being able to get going.

“We took too many penalties right away and lots of guys sitting on the bench were cold,” Ovechkin said. “The third period I felt pretty good, had control of the puck, again first period too many penalties.”

It wasn’t long ago that Ovechkin was being touted by some as the best hockey player in the world, yeah even better than Sidney Crosby.

But while Crosby was working, evolving, solidifying his place as the world`s top player, cracks were starting to show in Ovechkin’s armour.

Most point to his one-dimensional style of play. Skate hard, up the wing, fire the wrister. He used to be able to beat guys to the outside. Not so much anymore.

His teammates stand by him, though.

“It’s going to come,” former linemate Nicklas Backstrom said of Ovechkin breaking out of his slump.

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Is it over for Capitals' Ovechkin?

You have to wonder if Washington Capitals owner Ted Leonsis found any relief from Alex Ovechkin’s first road goal of the season.

Ovechkin blew a wrist shot past Maple Leafs goalie James Reimer on a power play at 2:38 of the second to put the Capitals up 2-1, a lead that would hold through the period before Toronto eventually picked up its first home win of the season, 3-2, on Thursday night.

Ovechkin was standing about halfway up the left faceoff circle when he let that blistering wrister of his go. It’s one of the things Ovechkin does better than almost anybody — fire the puck hard and quick. A lot of goalies would have had trouble handling it.